Deborah Jay's Blog, page 61

Are you attending Indie Author Fringe? #IAF16 #AuthorEvent

I only got to post once last week because my day job kept me pretty busy – judging at the British Dressage Winter National Championships[image error]

Here I am with my scribe, at the ready…

And this is what the arena looked like from my view

So, after an exhausting judging stint, back to the writing world!

Have you heard of Indie Author Fringe?

Formerly known as IndieReCon, this is a series of FREE ONLINE DAY CONFERENCES, the first of which is associated with the LONDON BOOK FAIR, coming to you on this week on the 15th April.

Run by the Alliance of Independent Authors (Alli)
Brings you the very best in self-publishing advice and education
World wide access
Fabulous contributors including: David Gaughran, Nick Stephenson, Joel Friedlander, Mark Dawson, Jane Friedman, Joanne Penn and Mark Coker.
Information on ALL aspects of indie publishing, from writing to publishing to promotion.
Best of all, it’s FREE

Visit this page http://selfpublishingadvice.org/indie-author-fringe-fair-2016/what-is-indie-author-fringe/ for more information and to sign up.

Go on, what are you waiting for?

 

You’ve hired an editor, but what happens if you don’t agree with them? #authors #writing

So you’ve finished your book and you’ve hired an editor, right?

Hopefully you hired the right sort of editor…

‘What?‘ you say, ‘there’s more than one type of editor?’

Oh yes, folks, and if you haven’t got that piece of information yet, you need to go do some research. As an overall guide, you will find:

structural editors
copy editors
proof readers

and they won’t be the same person.

Take a look at this post about editors: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kudler/book-editing_b_2990583.html

Anyway, assuming you have that bit sorted, I’m also wondering, did you check your editor out first, before you hired them?

These days, anyone can advertise their services, but it doesn’t mean they are either qualified, or any good at the job. Before you hire them, do your due diligence and check them out:

take a good look at their website: does it look professional?
do they have testimonials from satisfied clients, and/or contact detail of where you can ask said clients about them?
do they offer a sample edit? They should.

For more information on this, check out these posts:

https://janefriedman.com/find-freelance-book-editor/

http://thewritelife.com/how-to-find-an-editor-crucial-questions/

So, to the question posed in the title (remember that?)

What happens when you don’t agree with your editor?

Well, as with so many questions, that depends….

If you are an inexperienced or first time author, I’d highly recommend that you don’t disagree with your editor. You hired them for a reason, didn’t you? And you checked out that they were competent, nay, experienced at their job, so why would you question their advice?

This question is angled more at the author of some experience, with probably a book or two under their belts already, although I am ashamed to say, I question my first editor every step of the way.

Actually, it was a valuable experience, if a bit frustrating for us both.

In this case, I’d sold a book to a publisher, so I was assigned my editor, rather than having a choice. As such, he was, of course, both experienced and knowledgeable of the type and subject of my book. He queried places where he felt readers might be confused. He had me move paragraphs around to make for a more streamlined read. He suggested changing some words, also for clarity. He questioned parts he did not understand.

Frequent cries of: “This stupid man, why doesn’t he understand – it’s obvious!” could be heard, issuing from my room.

But in the end, most of the points he made were valid, and I came to accept them.

At the end, however, I had about five items on his list that I was unwilling to change, and that was when I shared my woes with a good friend, who, happily, is an experienced author with 7 books published at that time. Her advice to me was a revelation.

“Always remember, it’s your book. If you don’t want to change it, you don’t have to.”

I was floored by this. As a first time author, I’d made the assumption that I had to make each and every change my editor called for, or else my publisher would not publish the book.

NOT TRUE.

Oh, how liberating that piece of information! I returned the manuscript with the changes my editor requested, all bar those final five items that I felt strongly should be left as they were, and lo and behold, my book was published, as I wanted it to be.

 

Now this was non-fiction, but exactly the same applies to fiction: if you’ve written something exactly the way you wanted it to read, and you feel strongly enough about it despite your editor’s suggestions – remember that you don’t have to act on every single suggestion that your editor makes.

Most of the time, they are probably right. But always remember that it’s your book, and you wrote it that specific way, because that’s how you want it to read.

This applies also to line and punctuation suggestions – if you have the experience as an author, you will sometimes break ‘the rules’ deliberately, and that can be about ‘voice’ – that indefinable quality that makes a book specifically and recognisably yours, as opposed to just any old author’s. You may have done it to change a specific emphasis, or because your character’s dialogue needs to be true to them – and who knows your characters best?

Why, you, of course.

So whilst you should always, always take editing suggestions on board, also remember that it is entirely up to you to decide whether to implement them.

How about you? Have you disagreed or ignored any of your editor’s advice?

Go on, be a devil – admit it!

Writers are not lazy

This is just the most fabulous post on being a writer. Whichever side of the equation you are on – reader or writer – take a read…

I was in Barnes & Noble this weekend perusing through books and the three of you were there, in the middle of the aisle, talking to each other. First off… if you’re going to stand a…

Source: Writers are not lazy

Finalised Back Cover Copy for THE PRINCE’S SON, #EpicFantasy

Hi folks,

I’m still deeply buried in structural edits on THE PRINCE’S SON, and time taken for blogging is time away from getting this next book in THE FIVE KINGDOMS series out, so I may not be around as often as usual for a while.

Having said that, I’ve been working on the back cover copy, because another imminent step is to commission the new cover! I’m really excited about this, and I’ve secured a ‘yes’ from the cover designer I’ve been hoping to get on board – yay!

Take a look at her boards on Pinterest

I will, obviously, see what her opinions are, as she’s an experienced designer, but I have an image in my head already of pretty much what I want to see. It will, and I’m sure this will delight those who’ve read THE PRINCE’S MAN, feature Rustam on horseback again.

So without further ado, here is the finalised blurb/back cover copy:

Nessa Haddo has been raised to pursue what every young noblewoman needs: a suitable husband. Unfortunately for her, as a younger twin, her prospects are limited. Things start to look up when she lays eyes on the handsome foreign envoy sent to escort her sister to an arranged marriage, but her romantic fantasies quickly entangle her in events beyond her darkest nightmares.

Compared to his last mission, ex-spy Rustam Chalice’s new assignment sounds simple: wrangle an unwieldy bridal caravan across a mountain range populated by bandits, trolls, werecats and worse, try to cajole a traumatized princess out of her self-imposed isolation, and arrive on time for the politically sensitive wedding. What could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile, Lady Risada—the woman who haunts Rustam’s dreams—is struggling to adjust to a normal life. All her carefully honed assassin’s instincts scream warnings of foul play, yet she can find nothing obviously amiss.

And deep in the halls of a mountain clan, an old enemy plucks his victim’s strings with expert malice.

Happy? Or think it still needs adjusting?

#ExcerptWeek Preview: #Harbinger

Come on over to The Write Stuff and discover some great new books – like this seriously spooky excerpt from Marcia Meara’s series.

The Write Stuff

The Black Dog – A Harbinger of Death

Starting Monday, we will be having another week of Excerpts, here on The Write Stuff. I’ll post separately on that shortly. Since I have no #FabulousFridayGuestBlogger this week, I’ve decided start early, by sharing an excerpt from my current WIP, Harbinger: Wake-Robin Ridge Book 3. This is from the rough draft, so be kind. :)

To set this up, we met Rabbit in Book 2, A Boy Named Rabbit. He and his adoptive father, MacKenzie Cole, have been asked by the sheriff to help with a 20-year old cold case file. Mac is a master of gathering intel of various sorts through his computer research firm, and Rabbit has skills far and above the average 11-year-old. Or anyone else, for that matter. His gift of The Sight, as they call it in the mountains, has come on strong, developing into…

View original post 831 more words

Photos, Stickers, Animation, and More : A Collection of Visuals for Authors

Lots of useful information and resources in this post – go and take a look…

When it comes to marketing, visuals are all important–both online and off. Photos Photos are great for blogs as well as for books. Make sure you have the rights to use those photos. That̵…

Source: Photos, Stickers, Animation, and More : A Collection of Visuals for Authors

#Amediting, so today I’m just sharing some funnies ;)

There.

Hopefully something for everyone in that batch!

 

 

 

#EpicFantasy ‘THE PRINCE’S MAN’ #0.99 #sale – and does changing your price on Amazon trigger some visibility?

First up, award-winning epic fantasy, THE PRINCE’S MAN is on sale this week for $0.99 (or the equivalent) in ALL outlets across all countries where it is available – if you haven’t yet picked up a copy, now is your chance – one week only.

Rustam Chalice, dance tutor, gigolo and spy, loves his life just the way it is, so when the kingdom he serves is threatened from within, he leaps into action. Only trouble is, the spy master, Prince Hal, teams him up with an untouchable aristocratic assassin who despises him.

And to make matters worse, she’s the most beautiful woman in the Five Kingdoms.

Plunged into a desperate journey over the mountains, the mismatched pair struggle to survive deadly wildlife, the machinations of a spiteful god – and each other.

They must also keep alive a sickly elf they need as a political pawn. But when the elf reveals that Rustam has magic of his own, he is forced to question his identity, his sanity and worst, his loyalty to his prince.

For in Tyr-en, all magic users are put to death.

Award winning novel, THE PRINCE’S MAN, has been described as ‘Jam es Bond meets Lord of the Rings’ – a sweeping tale of spies and deadly politics, inter-species mistrust and magic phobia, with an underlying thread of romance.

   AMAZON       NOOK    iTunes   KOBO     SCRIBD    PAGE FOUNDRY    GOODREADS

Here are a couple of snippets of recent reviews:

“I enjoyed this book – particularly the gorgeous detail that painted a beautiful picture of the world without slowing down the pace of the story. There are several areas where the description simply blew me away, like the world of Shiva. Ooh, so pretty.”

“This newly created world is firm, there are no gaps or jumps of reasoning. One creature, idea, magic or bit of history flows right into the next. Characters that appear substantial at the beginning of the book do nothing but grow and evolve as their backstory unfolds behind them.”

My pricing question

My question is this: how does a book suddenly gain visibility as a result of a price change?

The reason for my question is this: it has been a very long time since I made any promotional effort on behalf of THE PRINCE’S MAN, for a number of reasons:

Time. I’ve been working feverishly on the sequel.
My marketing efforts have all been targeted on my urban fantasy books, because they are in KDP select, which is far easier to produce a quick promo than a book that is published in many different places.
THE PRINCE’S MAN has, until recently, been a good, consistent seller all on its own.

Toward the tail end of last year it began to slide down the Amazon rankings. As a result, it lost visibility, and come last month, for the first time ever, it didn’t sell a single copy, so the time has come to give it the nurturing it deserves. I duly set about arranging this promo (the first in nearly 2 years for this title), and, as a result of previous issues with price changes and world time differences meaning I lost a couple of booked ad slots (not for this title, but still annoying), I decided to drop the price in plenty of time. Every outlet takes a different amount of time for such changes to filter through, so I initiated the price drop on Tuesday evening, ready for the first ads on Friday.

And guess what?

In no time at all, it began selling again! No ads, no promo, nothing obvious to start the ball rolling, other than the actual price change.

I have absolutely NO idea how it happened, and if anyone has the answer, please share!

 

New release #BookReview: THE SIREN by Elicia Hyder #Paranormal #Romance

Elicia Hyder’s ‘Soul Summoner’ series continues…

Just released, this is the second instalment in Elicia Hyder’s ‘Soul Summoner’ series, and you can see my review of the first book here.

I enjoyed the first one so much – which was a complete surprise to me, as it’s quite light on the fantasy element – that I signed up to read an ARC of the second.

And I’m so pleased I did!

Here’s my review of THE SIREN

The Siren by Elicia Hyder

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I posted 5 stars for the first book in this series and I’m here to do the same for the second – a great achievement for a sequel.

There are no serial killers this time around, although the story starts out with the discovery that one of the supposed victims from the first book is alive and well, and living in Texas. She also appears to be akin to Sloane and Warren, in supernatural terms, which means they just have to go find her, in hopes that she knows more about what they are than they do.

Although the plot initially seems a bit secondary to the development of the characters and their relationships, the writing is so good it just drags you in without letting you notice the passage of time: excellent dialogue, great visual imagery, wonderfully complex (and realistic) characterisation – my perfect read. Mix in a little paranormal mystery, and I’m already anticipating the next one not so patiently.

I’m not going to go into the plot, as that’s tricky to do without spoilers, so suffice it to say there is more of the supernatural this time around, plus a rollercoaster of emotional events, and the ending, while wrapping this story line up satisfactorily, opens up a whole new vista for future books. I’ll just say angels and demons, so you get a little of the flavour of which type of supernatural this series involves, so if you like your novels with huge depth of character, sexy but sensitive men, lighter on the fantasy side, and in a contemporary setting, then this series is most definitely for you.

View all my reviews

Have you been disappointed by some sequels? Or have you found that they tended to deliver? As I’m getting closer to releasing my own second in series, I’m wondering how readers will react to a story that goes (probably) not where they are expecting it to go.

THE PRINCE’S SON is in editing, #Synopsis & #Logline time – all advice welcome.

Yep, that time has come!

The book is written, it’s been to alpha readers and I’m currently editing in preparation for sending to beta readers, so now is the time to start distilling my 150K word complex sequel, with multiple plot strands and 4 viewpoint characters into just a few lines. Easy, right?

Hm, you’d think so, but ask any writer and they will, almost without exception, tell you that it is way harder than writing the entire book.

This is my first sequel. I’m happy with the book, but how much to put in the blurb? To assume most people looking at it will have read the first book? Or not?

They don’t need to have done so – although probably best read in sequence, this is, once again, a stand alone book with its own complete story arc, though threads are left dangling at the end. But for those who have read the first, and want to know what has happened to their favourite characters?

Tricky. Very tricky.

I need to settle the blurb for the back cover of the paperback quite soon, so I can get the cover design underway, so any advice, experience and/or opinions gratefully received.

I have multiple drafts, but the following are my best efforts so far: not by any means settled, and I’m more than willing to scrap and start again if that looks best, but here goes:

Logline

To regain his former position, an exiled spy must escort a pair of young sisters across a dangerous mountain range and deliver them in time for a marriage of alliance. The bandit chieftain whose lands they must cross has a totally different agenda for the girls.

(46 words)

Short description

Raised a proper noblewoman, Lady Nessa Haddo’s only goal in life is to secure a suitable husband, but as a younger twin in a land where superstition deems her cursed, her prospects are limited. When she sets her sights on the handsome foreign envoy sent to escort her sister to her arranged marriage, Nessa’s romantic fantasies entangle her in events beyond her darkest nightmares.

Compared to his last escapade, Rustam Chalice’s commission sounds simple: wrangle an unwieldy bridal caravan across a mountain range populated by bandits, trolls, werecats and worse, try to cajole a traumatized princess out of her self-imposed isolation, and arrive on time for the politically sensitive wedding.

What could possibly go wrong?

(115 words)

Long description (back cover blurb)

In a society that believes younger twins to be cursed, Nessa Haddo clings to her unlikely dream of securing a husband. But when sets her sights on the scar-faced foreign envoy, her romantic fantasies entangle her in events beyond her darkest nightmares.

Rustam Chalice is too preoccupied with the consequences of the coup that resulted in his exile, to take more than fleeting notice of an infatuated teenage girl. Lady Risada, the woman he loves, has married his father, the prince, while his sister, still ignorant of their familial relationship, teeters on the brink of religious zealotry in her efforts to reconcile the torture she endured.

When the Haddo twins are kidnapped, Rustam blames himself for his potentially fatal lapse in judgement, and sets out on a rescue mission.

Meanwhile, back in her ancestral home, Lady Risada awaits the birth of her heir. All her carefully honed assassin’s skills are screaming warnings of foul play, yet she can find nothing obviously amiss.

And deep in the halls of a mountain clan, an old enemy plucks his victim’s strings with expert malice.

(181 words)

Help, advice, suggestions? All welcome…